New Team
by gladrags2012
Summary: The new team at M.I. High face new challenges. A two-shot short story trying out the new team.
1. Chapter 1

Aneisha, Zoe, Dan and Tom are the new MI High team at St. Heart's High School. This is a first attempt to use the new characters. Let me know if you like it.

Tom was way out of his comfort zone. He was glad that Dan was with him, even though he was still mad at him for once again attracting all the attention in Science. It was all wrong. Dan was just an average student in Science. Well, maybe a bit above average to be fair. Still, it wasn't like Tom got to be best in anything else at school, except possibly Maths and that was pretty much a solitary subject. There weren't many girls in Maths, and none of them wanted to talk about it. Still, all Dan had to do was blow the end off the test tube once again and he had a cluster of giggling girls around him, offering to check he hadn't burnt himself.

The worst of it was that when Tom went over to assure the girls that it was simply a rapid burn reaction, they all drifted away instantly. Then Dan thanked him quietly for getting rid of the girls ! How infuriating was that. He hadn't gone over to drive them away from Dan ! All he wanted was to drive them in his direction a little. Was that too much to ask ? Girls flew towards Dan like wasps to jam. Tom wished he knew how Dan did it. He sighed.

"You alright ?" asked Dan, sounding puzzled. This jolted Tom out of his grumpy daydream and reminded him where he was, which was in the middle of a Korpse secret installation. At least, that's what they thought it was.

"Erm, yeah fine," whispered Tom. His silent whinge about the unfairness of Dan's popularity had at least made him forget his nerves which came flooding back straight away. "I still don't think this was the best plan you know," he whispered, looking behind him once again.

"Chill !" instructed Dan. "You think I'm going to be able to break through those encrypted locks in here ? Seriously not my style mate. No point being the long distance brains of the outfit Tom. Sometimes you're going to have to get your hands dirty," he said. The cheeky smile took some of the sting out of the words. Tom managed a half smile in return. "That's more like it. Come on, there's only one more to go," said Dan, pointing to another circular door set into the corridor wall.

"You are running out of time team," said the voice of Frank in their earpieces. "Need to hurry it up a little."

"We're at the last lock," said Dan. "Tom's just getting to work on it." He watched Tom attach one of his gizmos to the lock and start a stream of numbers and letters running down the screen. He looked happier once he was concentrating on something. Dan hoped they didn't run into any action in here. He normally had Zoe as backup and Aneisha was pretty handy in the fighting department too. He'd never actually seen Tom hit anyone. He glanced nervously up and down the corridor. Dan had been trying to hide his own nerves from the moment Frank decided only he and Tom would penetrate the secret installation's core. If Tom had got a sniff of Dan's nerves he could have gone over the edge.

"We're in," said Tom, sounding pleased with himself. With one last look round the two agents gently pushed the door open and looked inside.

"Wonder why criminal masterminds go for circular doors ? Nothing wrong with the normal rectangular ones as far as I can see," pondered Dan. "They like things shiny too, don't they ?" he added, looking round the room.

"Could you shut up please ? We're supposed to be looking for this new weapon," complained Tom, now extremely nervous. The room was very dimly lit. Tom strained his eyes in an effort to look for any signs of the device they'd been told to find. Dan was walking round the opposite side of the room.

"Team, you only have ten more minutes to find the device and get out of the building," warned Frank's voice again.

"We're looking," said Dan. "Can't find it." His eyes were starting to adjust to the light levels but it was still hard to focus on individual shapes in the room. Finally his eyes settled on a table covered with a thick black sheet. "What's that ?" he asked. Tom looked where he was pointing and went over.

"This is it !" he said, pulling off the sheet and picking up an object from the table. It was shaped like a children's game where you had to press or tweak a particular part of the game each time it lit up. He stuffed it into Dan's backpack. It was surprisingly heavy for its size.

"Oh, I'm carrying it then am I ?" laughed Dan.

"Well, I haven't got a backpack," said Tom.

"Never mind. Come on. We need to get out of here," said Dan, heading for the door.

"Only six minutes left team," Frank said tensely over their comms.

Dan glanced out into the corridor which was still deserted. It looked like this branch of Korpse really did only work at night. They would be turning up soon though. Time to get moving. He shut the lab door. "Come on Tom. We need to run !" instructed Dan. Tom groaned, but started jogging along behind Dan. Tom had saved the codes for each of the doors they had unlocked on their way in, so it was much quicker to make their way out than it had been to make their way in.

"One, more, and then, we're out," puffed Tom. They both froze in horror as they heard voices approaching the last remaining door to the normal factory building hiding the secret installation. "Where, where, hide !" squeaked Tom in a panic.

"In here," hissed Dan, grabbing his arm and dragging him into a side room. It turned out to be a locker and shower room. "No, they'll all be coming in here !" hissed Dan. "Into the showers, quick !" he said, shoving Tom ahead of him into the long shower room, ducking into one of the open alcoves. The two agents pressed up against the wall and waited.

They heard the voices of people arriving and chatting to one another. It sounded like the start of any average working day in any office or factory around the country. Only this one was run by an underground criminal organisation. They heard men coming into the locker room behind them. Dan glanced round the corner to see a guy wearing cycling gear take off his cycling helmet and store it away in one of the lockers. What was the world coming to ? Even master criminals were going eco-friendly these days ! He prayed that the cyclist didn't need a shower. His heart sank as the guy came into the room and went into a shower alcove. Luckily he went to the opposite end of the room and didn't pass Tom and Dan. Dan glanced round the corner again and saw an open locker with the guy's cycling kit on a bench and clean work clothes inside the locker. A passcard lay neatly on top of the piles of clothes. A plan came to him. He glanced at Tom, who had his eyes closed tightly and was moving his lips soundlessly.

Dan waited until the cycling master criminal came out of the shower wearing only his towel. He looked startled for a moment on seeing Dan, until Dan karate-kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious. "Sorry mate. Need your stuff," whispered Dan, dragging the unconscious man into the alcove next to Tom. He folded the man up so he was completely hidden from the view of the room behind them. "Come on Tom," he whispered, dragging Tom out of their hiding place.

He grabbed the white work-shirt from the locker and thrust it at Tom. "Put that on !" he ordered. Tom started to undo the zip of his black jacket. "No ! Just put it on over the top !" hissed Dan. Glancing nervously towards the entrance door, he grabbed the cycling gear and started to pull it on over the top of his own clothes. Eurgh ! This guy needed a shower all right. His gear reeked. Sticking the helmet on his head he pulled Tom behind him to the door and peeked outside. There was now a security detail behind a desk near the entrance. They were checking people's passcards and signing them in.

Pulling Tom along, he moved swiftly into the centre of the small crowd milling about in front of the desk. He let the passcard swing visibly round his neck. A few more people came in, and he and Tom moved back amongst the people, closer towards the door. He made it look as if he was waiting to go into the building. By slowly shifting sideways and backwards they both found themselves next to the door. As another three people stepped inside the door, Dan pulled Tom with him, slipped behind them and stepped backwards out of the door. Quickly looking round he pushed the door shut in front of him and walked away through the deserted factory floor ahead of them. "We're in the factory," muttered Dan into his microphone. "Making our way out now," he said.

Seeing some people at the far side of the factory floor, Dan pulled Tom with him behind some machinery, ducking down out of sight. Light in the factory was dimming as the sun went down outside. The machinery cast long shadows which made it easier to hide. Dan started pulling off the brightly coloured cycling outfit. Tom followed suit and took off his white shirt. "Nice one Dan," said Tom, smiling.

"We aren't out yet," warned Dan, looking round the machinery and trying to see a way out without being seen. Suddenly a klaxon started to blare out across the factory. Everyone stopped and looked around them.

"Intruder alert ! Intruder alert ! All staff to apprehend intruders ! The Lightning Seed has been stolen !" declared an amplified voice.


	2. Chapter 2

Aneisha, Zoe, Dan and Tom are the new MI High team at St. Heart's High School.

_Suddenly a klaxon started to blare out across the factory. Everyone stopped and looked around them. _

"_Intruder alert ! Intruder alert ! All staff to apprehend intruders ! The Lightning Seed has been stolen !" declared an amplified voice. _

"Come on, this way," hissed Dan to Tom, setting off behind the bank of machinery towards the far end of the hall.

"They're in here !" shouted a voice. "Security ! This way !" they shouted. Dan and Tom could hear people pouring out of the installation's entrance door and heading their way.

"Frank, we're in trouble," called Dan.

"We're sending in the rest of the team," said Frank. "Keep running and we'll be with you in a minute !" he ordered.

Tom was in a panic now. He raced ahead of Dan who was weighed down slightly by the device in his packpack. Tom heard the sound of running ahead. "Frank ?" he shouted.

"This is MI9, you are under arrest !" shouted a woman's voice. It was Stella. A large group of MI9 agents, including Frank, Aneisha and Zoe were with her. Tom turned to see where the Korpse agents were. They were right behind them, pointing their weapons at him and Dan.

"Halt ! Return the Lightning Seed or we will fire !" shouted one of the Korpse agents. The two rival groups of agents halted, with Dan and Tom in the middle.

"Oh, this is not good," muttered Dan, panting.

"Take the device out and put it on the ground Dan," instructed Frank.

Dan slipped the backpack off his shoulders, put it down and pulled out the weapon, placing it on the ground. He stepped away from it so it would be clearly visible to everyone. He noticed that the Korpse team suddenly looked nervous and were glancing up at the high windows around the factory building. "Why are they nervous ?" Dan whispered.

"I don't know," replied Frank. As the two teams stood in a stalemate, staring at one another a shaft of moonlight shone through the high factory windows and lit up the centre of the floor, including Dan, Tom and the Lightning Seed.

The Korpse group immediately became agitated. "You do it !" said one.

"No, you do it !" shouted another. Then they turned to Dan and Tom. "Cover it up ! Quick ! Don't let the light shine on it ! Oh no !" the Korpse agent shouted. They all immediately started backing off.

"Hey, they're giving up !" said Dan, relieved.

"There's a reason !" said Tom, sounding scared. "Look !" he pointed at the device on the floor. It was starting to vibrate and glow a weird electric blue, getting brighter by the second.

"Run !" shouted the Korpse agents. They turned tail and ran back to their headquarters.

"It has to be the light. Cover it with something Dan !" shouted Frank. Dan reached out to grab it and put it back in his backpack, but an electrical charge shot out and stung his hand.

"Ow !" he shouted, shaking his hand. "Tom, run !" he yelled. "Get out of here ! I'll throw my jacket over it." He unzipped and started pulling off his jacket as quickly as he could. Tom ran towards his team and glanced back over his shoulder in time to see Dan throw his jacket over the weapon just as a much larger electrical discharge shot out hitting Dan in the chest and slamming him backwards through the air. He came crashing to the ground several metres behind Tom. Tom was horrified to see a large black burn on Dan's top. As quickly as it had come, the shaft of moonlight moved on and the factory was once more in darkness.

"Agent down !" shouted Frank, running towards the frozen Tom and fallen Dan.

"Get that device into something dark !" yelled Stella. Two agents reached the weapon and stuffed it, along with Dan's jacket into his black backpack. "Get it out of here !" she ordered. "Frank, is he alright ?" she asked, sounding worried.

"No," said Frank tensely. "We need to do CPR," he added. He had started pumping at Dan's chest. Stella waved one of the agents forward. "Help Agent London," she ordered. "Get the medical kit out of the van," she ordered another agent who immediately ran off to get it. Then she pulled out her phone and called for medical assistance. "Agent down. Priority !" she snapped.

Tom watched in horror as Frank tried to restart Dan's heart. Tom didn't know what to do. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulder and turned to find Aneisha, also looking sick with worry standing next to him. "Will he be alright ?" asked another voice. Zoe was standing looking puzzled. "He will be alright won't he ?" she said. She was starting to sound worried. Aneisha took her hand.

Two agents returned from the vans with arms full of bags. One pulled out a small resuscitation unit. Tom, Aneisha and Zoe didn't have a clear view of what was going on now due to the small crowd of people clustered around Dan's motionless body. There was a lot of movement amongst the agents helping him, but they couldn't see what they were doing. "OK, hands away !" instructed Frank. There was a loud click and they saw Dan's feet twitch. "Anything ?" asked Frank. There was muttering amongst the agents. "Right, let's try again. Hands away !" said Frank. There was another loud click and once again they saw Dan's body twitch. "There is ? Oh thank God !" said Frank. "Get him on oxygen," he ordered.

The group kneeling around Dan drew back slightly and the others could now see that his shirt had been pulled open, showing a large reddened burn on his upper chest and a breathing mask over his face. Frank pulled a blanket out of one of the bags and wrapped it round Dan. He sat back, looked up into Stella's anxious face and nodded in relief. She smiled back at him and pressed his shoulder. Aneisha pulled Tom and Zoe into a group hug. There was some sniffing and eye-wiping while nobody was looking.

The ambulance crew arrived and took Dan away, still apparently unconscious. The remaining agents had been trying to catch the Korpse personnel who had run back to their base. Apart from a few minor operatives, they had been unable to capture many of the Korpse staff. They had emergency exits set up which allowed them to evade capture. Stella sent Frank and his remaining team home. "Well done on capturing that weapon," she told Tom. "You both did well. Go and get some rest. Our other agents will clear out the Korpse base."

Frank and the team were driven back to base. There was a stunned silence in the van. "Can we see Dan ?" asked Zoe.

"Frank gave her a sympathetic smile. "We ought to wait until tomorrow Zoe. He's going to be too fragile to be allowed visitors tonight. Don't worry, he's in good hands," said Frank.

"I should have helped him," said Tom. "He told me to run and I did. He might be alright if I'd done something."

"Tom, what difference would it have made ?" asked Zoe, puzzled. "You might both have been hurt instead. Dan knew what to do."

"I just froze. I wasn't thinking any more," said Tom. Frank saw how upset Tom was and put his hand on Tom's shoulder.

"Tom, there is no point going through all the 'what-ifs'. Dan did his job and you did yours. You aren't used to field work and you did as well as I could have expected. You didn't jeopardise the mission in any way. Please don't blame yourself for what happened to Dan. I know he won't," said Frank gently.

On their return to base the team disbanded and went home. The next day was a normal school day, apart from Dan's absence. Tom was struggling to concentrate throughout the day. Eventually his science teacher asked him what the matter was. He told them that he was worried about Dan. "Ah yes, I heard he had an accident," said the teacher sympathetically. Tom nodded. "I'm sure he'll be fine Tom. He's a fit young man and he'll be up and about in no time," said his teacher with a smile.

Late in the day, Frank collected the team and took them to the MI9 hospital. They were taken to a room where Dan lay in bed with his chest wired up to an ECG. "Ten minutes !" instructed a nurse. Dan still had a breathing mask on his face, but this time he was awake. He moved his head slightly to the side as they came into the room. Frank walked up to his bedside first. "Dan, you're looking a lot better," he said. "You and Tom did really well yesterday. Stella's pleased with both of you." He could see that Dan's lips were moving but he couldn't make out what he was saying. He bent down so his ear was closer. "What's that ? Oh yes, none of our agents were hurt apart from you. Throwing your jacket over the device stopped it charging. Well done Dan," he said quietly. Then he backed away to let the others get nearer.

"Hey Dan," said Aneisha. Zoe bent down and kissed his cheek. Tom shuffled next to them. His face had guilt painted all over it. Dan beckoned him closer with his finger. Tom bent over to listen. He could only just make out Dan's whisper.

"Could have been much worse mate," whispered Dan.

"What ? How ?" asked Tom.

"Could have been the women's showers," whispered Dan.

Tom was puzzled. "That's not worse ..." he said, noticing Dan's slight smile. Unable to control himself he laughed out loud. With the tension now released he giggled hysterically. The nurse came in saying it was time to leave. Tom looked gratefully at Dan. "Thanks Dan. See you soon OK ?" Dan nodded slightly.

"What was that all about ?" asked Aneisha.

"I think he was trying to cheer me up," said Tom.

"Looks like it worked," said Aneisha.


End file.
